Flag for golf courses



arch 1, 1938.

1.. w. WEBER 2,110,101 FLAG FOR GOLF COURSES MW 9 LowsW. \EBER.

I 663m Jam 3m Patented Mar. 1, 1938 PATENT OFFICE FLAG FOR GOLF COURSES Louis W. Weber, Galveston, Tex.,

McDonough Iron Works, Inc., Galveston,

a corporation of Texas assignor to Tex.,

Application May 28, 1935, Serial No. 23,825

9 Claims.

The invention relates to an improvement in the manner of positioning the flag on golf course greens.

It is well known that the surface of the golf course green closely adjacent the cup must bear theheaviest trafiic and with grass greens the grass becomes worn and trampled so that it is necessary to frequently move the cup from location to location about the green. Needless to say, when the cup is moved the hole must be filled up and a new turf provided in an effort to obtain a smooth surface. Where the cup must be changed frequently it is practically impossible to maintain a smooth green because of the frequent exacavations and fillings which must be made.

A majority of the traffic about the cup is due to the handling of the flag. It is the usual practice for the caddy to approach the cup and stand behind the flag as each player approaches the green, and during the putting to hold the flag directly behind the cup while each player is making his shot. 7

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a flag which may be suspended above the cup with sufficient clearance to permit the ball to pass into or over the cup without interference from the flag.

Another object of the invention is to suspend the flag above the cup so that it may be observed and will at all times indicate the center of the cup without the necessity of being moved when the ball is being holed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for suspending the flag over the cup on golf course greens.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus which may be moved about the golf course green in order to suspend the flag in any desired position where the cup may be located.

Another object of the invention is to provide a support about the green so that the flag may be suspended in any desired position.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a transverse section. taken on a vertical plane through a golf course green, and illustrating one manner of arranging the flag above the cup.

Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of a diagrammatic arrangement for moving the flag support structure about the green, so that the flag may be supported in any desired position.

Fig. 3 shows another form of the invention where a post and. boom have been provided which are adjustable so that the flag may be supported above the cup.

In view of the fact that the major cost in main- 5 taining a golf course can be traced directly to the cost of maintaining the greens and that the maintenance of the green is primarily the moving of the cup and providing a suitable turf over the filled in area, the present invention contem- 10 plates a material saving in the cost of upkeep of the greens and in addition thereto the provision of a more satisfactory flag which requires less attention.

In Fig. 1 a conventional green is indicated at 2 with a cup 3 located thereon. As is usual the cup is in the form of a metallic structure 4 which is sunk in the earth with its upper edge flush with the turf 5 adjacent the cup.

The recognized practice is to provide a flag on a pole which is inserted in the cup and remains in an upright position until the player approaches the green when the caddy must remove the flag so that it will not interfere with the ball entering the cup. Many instances have occurred where the flag was not removed and the ball was deflected by the pole. The present invention dispenses with the pole in the cup entirely and substitutes therefor the flag I which is in the form of a cable or rod 8 having a weight or plum bob 9 attached to the lower end thereof. If desired the signals I0 may be attached to the cable or wire 8 so that the flag may be observed from a considerable distance.

This entire assembly in the Fig. 1 form of the invention is suspended from a cable or wire H by means of a releasable clamp 12.

The cable H is in turn supported on the posts 15 and I6, which are preferably spaced apart at least the width of the green 2, so that the posts will not be on the green. The cable H may be suitably attached to the posts l5 and IE or it may extend over the posts and be attached to the anchors I1 and 18 respectively. If desired a turn buckle l9 may be placed in either end of the cable so that it may be tightened.

It should particularly be noted that the weight 9 is disposed above the turf 5 a distance 20 which is sufiicient to permit the passage of a ball over the cup and under the weight 9. In this manner if a ball is shot over the cup the Weight 9 will not interfere with its passage. If, however, the ball drops into the cup the plumb-bob is in the correct position to indicate to the player the exact center of the cup.

A particular advantage of this arrangement is that the caddy need not attend the flag when the green is being approached andhe need not tramp about the cup holding the flag in position during putting.

It has been found from actual experience that where no attendant for the flag is required that the trafiic about the cup is reduced a material amount and in fact on a prominent course on one of the most used holes where the cup was moved on an average of about once a week, it was found that the turf about the cup was undamaged after the cup had remained in the same location for a period of three months. Needless to say, the remainder of the green was in excellent condition because no excavations or fillings had been made, and the cost of maintaining the green was but a fraction of the previous cost.

In order, however, that the cup might be moved about as desired the arrangement shown. in Fig. 2 might be provided. The cup 3 and the flag'l and its supporting cable II and the posts. l5 and I6 are all illustrated the same as in Fig. 1. In addition, however, a plurality ofholes or sockets 2.5 have been arranged about the green. These sockets are preferably adjacent the edge of the green and will be arranged to receive the posts l5 and 56 so that the flag I can be suspendedat practically any desired position on the green.

The various arrangements of the positioning of the posts I5 and IS in the various sockets has been illustrated-by the dotted lines of Fig. 2. The cup, of course, can be located along any one of the dotted lines as desired.

The Fig. 3 form of the invention is somewhat similar to that previously described, except that a single'support 30 has been provided which is in the form of an upstanding post which carries a boom 3!. This boom is preferably formed of the sleeve 32' and the extension 33. The extension 33 may telescope with respect to the sleeve 32 andcan be set in any extended position by means of the locln'ng device 34. Of course, this boom may be constructed of any suitable material which will serve to support the flag 7 above the cup 3, as seen in Fig. 3. 'Where the green is of considerable width and the boom 3| will necessarily be extended, a suitable brace 35 may be arranged above the boomand connected to an extension 36 of the support 30. Posts can be ad- I justed as desired and the boom 3! can be pivoted in a horizontal plane so that the flag 1 may be located in any desired position with respect to the support 30.

An additional brace 40 may also be attached to the post 30 by a clamp 4| adjacent the base and by connecting also to the extension 36. Either or both of the signals 10 may be used as desired depending upon the visibility or the distance to the flag.

The support 30 may be positioned in any one of the sockets 25 seen in Fig. 2, so that it will be possible with this arrangement to locate the cup in any desired position. A locking device 3-! may be set after the flag 1 has been positioned directly over the cup, so that there will be no movement thereof.

The presentinvention is of material advantage because it eliminates the mental hazard of a person standing adjacent the cup attending the flag and the player is assured that there will be no interference with his shot by failure of the attendant to remove the flag so it will not interfere with the passage of the ball. Needless to say the cable II and the boom 3! will be arranged at a sufficient elevation above the turf so that there will be no interference with the player.

The invention contemplates broadly the provision of a device for suspending the flag above the cup so that the flag pole can be eliminated and so that an attendant is not required at the flag. This results in a material reduction in the cost of upkeep of the green and is generally more satisfactory to the players because of the removal of the mental hazard of the attendant at the cup.

What is claimed is:

1. A flag for the cup of golf course greens including a flag member, a weight thereon, means to support said flag and weight so that the weight will hang by gravity directly over the cup and the flag will indicate the location of the cup.

2. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a weight to hold said flag in a normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cup.

3. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a weight to hold said flag in a normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cup, said means including a flexible means supported above the green.

4. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a weight to hold said flag in a normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cup, said means including a flexible means supported above the green, and anchors for said flexible means.

5. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a Weight to hold said flag in a normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cup, said means including a flexible means supported above the green, and anchors for said flexible means positioned adjacent the edge of the green.

6. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a weight to hold said flag ina normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cu said means including a post and boom.

7. The combination with a golf course green and cup of a flag suspended over the cup, a weight to hold said flag in a normally vertical position, and means suspending the flag and weight above the cup to indicate the location of the cup, said means including a post and. boom adapted to be extended or pivoted to position said flag above the cup.

8. A support for the flag locating the cup of golf course greens including a post to be positioned in an upright position adjacent the green,

a boom extending laterally from said post and over the green, and a flag carried by said boom. 9. A golf course green, a plurality of sockets disposed about the green, a flag for the green, and means to be positioned in said sockets to support said flag including a pair of posts disposed in opposite sockets, a cable carried by said posts and means to connect said flag to said cable.

LOUIS W. WEBER. 

